Meaning & use

grafting

verb·Advanced

Last updated

Joining a shoot or bud from one plant onto another so they grow together, or transplanting tissue from one part of a body to another.

See it in a sentence

The orchardist is grafting apple scions onto sturdy rootstock this spring.

Surgeons repaired the burn victim's skin by grafting tissue from another part of his body.

A note on using this word

In British informal usage, "grafting" can also mean working hard, as in "he's out there grafting every day," a sense unrelated to the horticultural meaning.

Words with a similar meaning

transplantingsplicing

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. verb

British informal: working hard or diligently.

She's been grafting nonstop to get the business off the ground.

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